Chapter Text
A year later.
Preparations for Noah’s first birthday party were well underway. Joy and Yaz had decided to keep it simple and to invite their friends and family over for a barbecue in their backyard. The boy was still young, and would likely not remember any of today’s celebrations. Yet, this was the perfect opportunity to get everyone together and enjoy one of the last few days before the school start.
The guest list was composed of their closest and dearest. Uncle John, Aunty Rose, and Anna and Liam were already here. The twins were in the treehouse with Alice and Noah, while their parents were helping Joy and Yaz decorate everything for the birthday boy.
Nani Najia, Nana Hakim, Aunty Sonya and Nani Umbreen were all coming over from Sheffield, and should be here any minute now. They all tried to come by more often after Noah was born. In return, Joy, Yaz, Alice and Noah tried to make the trip to see them as much as they could as well. The Khans made it their duty to make sure the boy would recognize them even though they all lived in different cities – and it was certainly a success. He adored them all, but definitely had a soft spot for his aunt and would often beg to be in her arms.
And, to both Joy and Yaz’s delight, the more Alice interacted with the Khans, the clearer it became that she was just as much a part of the family as Noah was. There were always unspoken worries in that respect because she was older than Noah, and thus had spent most of her life without Yaz or the Khans taking an active part in it. But those were just that: worries. Najia quickly became her Nani, just like Umbreen, Hakim was her Nana, and Sonya was now the cool Aunty she wanted to be.
Amy, Rory, and Anthony were also coming over with their family’s newest addition. A couple of months after Noah’s birth, they had adopted a three-year-old girl named Melody, who had been brightening their lives ever since.
Uncle Ryan wouldn’t miss his favourite – and only – nephew’s birthday for the world. Sadly, his grandparents couldn’t make it – they were both on a trip to New Zealand, making the most of their retirement.
Even though Yaz and Ryan officially didn’t live together anymore, with all of Yaz’s stuff now at Joy’s – their’s, – they still managed to see each other often. Actually, they saw each other even more often now than when they shared an address, which always seemed funny to Yaz. The young woman was so glad that her best friend was now back at being such a constant in her life, and in her children’s, too. Ryan turned out to be brilliant with both Noah and Alice, and the two of them simply adored him.
Bill and Clara, who had both ended up proposing to each other at the same time, many months ago, were also joining the celebrations. It warmed Yaz’s heart to think of her friends embarking on that life-long adventure, and she always saw them as inspiration. Indeed, the news of their engagement had inspired her. It was just a matter of finding the right moment – and the right ring – to seal her fate with Joy’s in yet another way.
“Mumzy!” Alice’s voice resounded from the treehouse, forcing Yaz out of her thoughts. “Can we show Noah how to play Goonies?”
The younger woman chuckled. It felt like forever since she had been taught how to play that game by the girl. A whole lifetime ago. “Of course, you can, sweetheart! I’ll come and help you bring him back up in the treehouse after you guys slide down, though. I don’t want you guys to get hurt.”
In the end, Yaz didn’t need to do that. Her family arrived just as she spoke and, after everyone got their hugs and kisses, Aunty Sonya was put on Goonies duty, much to Joy’s disappointment.
“But I wanted to go play Goonies,” she mumbled in jest.
Yaz rolled her eyes affectionately. “Help me put that garland up, then you can go.”
“Really?” Joy asked, eyes sparkling with a childlike joy that was so undeniably her. Yaz nodded. “Oh, you’re the best!” She added, kissing Yaz’s cheek.
The older woman quickly busied herself finding a chair so she could reach the top of the backyard door a little easier. In a matter of seconds, she tapped the decoration in place, and swiftly ran off to join the kids, who all cheered at her arrival.
“Must feel like you’re raising three kids by yourself, at times,” John said, joining Yaz as she looked at her girlfriend playing with the children.
“Not really,” Yaz smiled. “Well, except when that happens,” she pointed at the treehouse. “Or when she eats one too many custard creams and can’t move until her stomach ache passes.”
“That’s definitely our Joy,” John smirked.
“Yup. And I wouldn’t change her for the world.”
John nudged her softly. “Don’t worry, neither would I.”
***
After lunch, the backyard transformed into a dancefloor. Ryan was managing the playlist and making sure that kids and adults alike were having a great time. The twins and Anthony were jumping around and screaming, while Sonya was holding both Alice’s and Melody’s hands tightly as they swayed to the rhythm of the song.
Noah watched them all and clapped, a wide grin plastered on his face. He seemed more than happy to watch them dance, which was great since he couldn’t exactly join them just yet – not without help, anyway. He started walking a couple of months ago, but his balance wasn’t always perfect. Oftentimes, he relied on furniture to stay up. Sadly, there wasn’t a lot of that in the backyard.
It didn’t take long before someone special came to his aid.
“Hey, handsome,” Yaz said, crouching down in front of him and holding up her arms in his direction. “Wanna dance with Mumzy?”
“Muh-zy!” He shouted excitedly, reaching out for his mother’s hands.
He was still having a hard time with ‘Mumzy,’ and at times Yaz was a little jealous of how ‘Mummy’ was phonetically much easier for him to say. Yet, every time he tried to say it, he seemed to get a little closer, and Yaz would always beam with pride.
She held both of his hands as she led him closer to the others at his own pace. When they got there, Yaz stopped moving, and Noah took a moment to look at his big sister, who let go of Sonya’s hand to wave at him. He giggled at her and finally started dancing. It was mostly him flexing his knees, really, but he looked absolutely adorable. Yaz moved their arms to the beat of the song, and Noah’s happiness seemed to reach its peak. He was screaming and laughing, and so was Yaz.
After a short while, Noah’s legs were getting tired from all the dancing, so he ungraciously let himself fall to the floor.
“Are you tired, Noah?” Yaz asked, crouching down to his level once more.
“Up, Muh-zy,” he demanded, crawling and catching Yaz’s shirt with his tiny hands.
“Okay, baby boy,” Yaz whispered as she got up with him in her arms. He had enough core strength now, and she could easily rest him on her hip.
Yaz stayed where she was and swayed, her free hand busy bopping her son’s nose.
“How are you one year old already? This is crazy,” she said, and Noah started laughing. “Yeah, it is!”
“Muh-zy!”
“That’s me,” Yaz said softly, kissing his forehead as she kept dancing with him.
The past year hadn’t been easy. Between her dissertation, her job at the laboratory, and becoming a mother, Yaz had needed some time to adapt to her new life. She often came back home exhausted and considered dropping her master’s degree more than once. She felt like time was slipping through her fingers, and whenever she wasn’t home, she longed to be with her family.
In the end, Joy helped her understand what she was feeling. It wasn’t like Yaz didn’t like her degree; she loved it.
“You just need to find balance,” Joy had told her. “And I’ll help you, like you helped me.”
In the end, what had really helped Yaz was being able to open up to Joy about her feelings and her struggles. Of course, having Joy and Noah stop by the laboratory once a week for lunch definitely helped, but her girlfriend’s support was everything she had ever hoped for, and more.
And now, every moment she could spend with Alice and Noah was even more special. Whenever they said her name – or tried to, at least – it felt like a wave of pure love was submerging her over and over again.
With the three of them, she was whole. She was the person she always wanted to be.
Even if she was deep in her thoughts, Yaz was still dancing. Noah’s enjoyment hadn’t faltered, and he showed it by clapping his hands with a rhythm that seemed to only make sense to him.
The young woman felt a familiar hand rest gently on her shoulder. She turned around and placed a kiss on her girlfriend’s lips.
“Well, looks like there’s someone here who is really enjoying himself,” Joy said softly, her hand stroking Noah’s delicate curls.
“Mummy!” Noah exclaimed as he enthusiastically grabbed Joy’s face with his tiny hands.
Joy giggled at her son’s antics. “Hiya, mate! Are you trying to rip my face off?”
“Please don’t do that,” Yaz said. “I really like Mummy’s face.”
The older woman turned to her, her mouth agape. “Are you saying you only like me for my looks, Ms. Khan?”
“Well, amongst other things. I would prefer your face to stay on your face, though, you know? Otherwise, it makes it a little difficult to kiss you,” Yaz said quietly before she placed a kiss on her girlfriend’s lips, bringing a rosy tint to Joy’s cheeks.
“Ah! Yeah. Please don’t rip my face off, Noah.”
“N— ah!” The boy babbled with confidence.
Joy grinned. “Yes! Your name is Noah. No-ah.”
“Nah,” he replied, a curious finger now in Joy’s nostril.
Yaz took a moment to appreciate the scene in its full glory, laughing her head off, before she removed Noah’s finger from Joy’s nose. “Don’t do that, Noah! Fingers stay out of noses, even Mummy’s.”
“Yeah, thanks for that, by the way. Reminds me of that time you laughed at me instead of helping me get away from that duck at the cottage.”
She smiled at the memory. “Ah! Too bad I didn’t take a picture or a video this time. Maybe I should ask Noah to do that again—”
Joy looked at her with wide, scared eyes.
“I won’t, silly,” Yaz smiled, kissing Joy’s cheek.
Alice came running towards them soon after, hugging Joy’s middle tightly. The six-year-old was getting taller every day, and kinder, too. She had adapted really well to being a big sister. The first few months, she had been a little moody after sleepless nights caused by her brother’s cries, but she never became angry at him – which could definitely have been a possibility considering she was still young and didn’t always understand why he was crying so much. Instead, she gave him a kiss every morning. One time, Yaz and Joy had heard her speak to him while he was in his crib.
“You know, Mumzy told me once that it’s okay to be sad. I think it’s okay to cry, because Mummy and Mumzy will always be there to make you feel better. And I will, too… But I don’t know how to heat your bottle, and Mummy told me you cry a lot when you’re hungry, so I will need to ask for their help sometimes I think.”
From that moment on, Alice had offered to feed Noah at least once a day.
When he saw her in the vicinity, the birthday boy made it clear he wanted to be with his sister, who gladly helped him upright after Yaz put him back on the floor.
“Ayice!” Noah grinned proudly.
“Let’s go dance, Noah!”
Brother and sister went off, hand in hand, and started dancing to the rhythm of Ryan’s playlist. Joy and Yaz held each other as they watched them, both of their hearts bursting with love and pride.
“Look at them,” Joy sighed happily. “Our children.”
Yaz sighed as well, but hers was tainted with sadness. They had applied for a court order for Yaz to adopt both Alice and Noah, but they had yet to hear back about it. She didn’t feel any less like their mother, and she trusted Joy felt the same way, but it didn’t feel right to call them hers.
She worried at her bottom lip, and she watched them, knowing full well that Joy’s gaze was on her.
“It’s gonna be okay, Yaz,” Joy said, tucking a loose strand of hair behind Yaz’s ear. “I know it’s worrying you, but it’s all going to fall into place. I promise.”
Yaz let her head fall on Joy’s shoulder. “Can we stop talking about it?” She asked quietly. “I just wanna enjoy today without worrying about these things.”
“Of course, we can,” Joy replied, kissing the top of Yaz’s head before her eyes fell back on the two children who, no matter what, were always going to be theirs.
***
“Happy birthday to you, happy birthday to you,” the group sang loudly as Alice and Yaz carefully brought Noah his massive dinosaur-themed birthday cake. “Happy birthday dear Noah! Happy birthday to you!”
Their friends and family cheered loudly, and Noah made grabby hands in the cake’s direction. The dessert was further down the table in an attempt to avoid the certain mess he was going to make, as any one-year-old would.
Surprisingly, though, when Joy handed him his plate, he stared at his piece of cake intently. He poked it once, twice, and giggled loudly.
“Noah, you gotta eat it, mate,” Sonya laughed.
John approached his nephew slowly, with a piece of cake of his own. “Let me show you how it’s done,” he said. When he reached Noah’s side, he put a bit of icing on his finger, and spread it out on the top of the baby’s nose. “See! You can’t turn one without making a mess with cake, Noah, that’s not how it works. Gotta make your mummies work a little.”
“Oi!” Joy pouted.
The boy awkwardly tried to grab the icing on his nose and inadvertently made even more of a mess. He was now laughing uncontrollably.
“John, you need to do a better job at showing him how to do this,” Sonya smirked. John had inspired her, and so she walked to her nephew, ready to give him a hand with his birthday cake.
“Sonya,” Yaz scolded.
Next to Noah, John was grinning from ear to ear.
“John, please! He doesn’t really need to make a mess,” Joy pleaded.
But when they saw their siblings gently take hold of each of Noah’s hands, both Joy and Yaz knew it was too late. Sonya and John were both laughing loudly as they shoved Noah’s hands in his piece of cake. As they did so, it felt like the boy discovered a whole new world.
“Nah!” He shouted as he brought both of his cake-filled hands to his face.
The two women shared a look and guffawed at the sight of each other’s slightly bewildered expression. When they looked back at the scene playing in front of them, they saw John and Sonya high-five proudly and shamelessly.
“You guys are the worst!” Joy shouted in her brother’s direction.
“No, we’re not,” he grinned.
After they all enjoyed a piece of cake – including the birthday boy, even though most of his cake ended up on his face, on his clothes, and in his hair – it was time for Noah to unwrap his gifts. That had to wait after a quick but much deserved bath, which was provided by none other than the very uncle who had caused havoc.
Noah was spoiled rotten by everyone. He received new toys and puzzles, a child-size basketball net, and some new personalized story books, which seemed to get Joy and Yaz’s attention more than Noah’s, who was already playing basketball with his Uncle Ryan.
But the fact the two women were so intrigued by the books was only because they remembered the emotions they felt after the two of them read the first one to Alice, and how it stuck with all of them, even to this day.
The guests quickly scattered around the backyard, either joining Noah and Ryan’s game, watching them, or chatting together. It stayed that way until someone spoke up.
“Beti,” Umbreen said in Yaz’s direction. “There’s still a gift on the table.”
Yaz, who was engrossed in a conversation with Clara about the other woman’s new job, looked up. She looked at her Nani, and then her gaze fell on the table where only one dark blue envelope she hadn’t seen before remained. She eyed around the space to find her girlfriend and, when she saw her by the door, it seemed like she had already been watching Yaz for a short moment.
Yaz mouthed in Joy’s direction, her eyebrows knitted in puzzlement. “Do you know what it is?”
Joy simply smiled at her, cocking her head in the table’s direction, silently inviting her to go and have a look.
Najia and Hakim, who were both closer to the table, took a look at it.
“It has your name on it, sweetheart,” Najia said, handing the envelope to her eldest daughter.
“But it’s not my birthday,” Yaz chuckled as she accepted the gift.
She looked at the envelope carefully. Her name was indeed written down on it, and she could recognize that handwriting anywhere.
It was Joy’s.
The young woman looked up and found Joy’s hazel eyes again. She pointed at the blue envelope and offered the other woman a baffled smile.
Joy got a little closer, but kept her distance for some incomprehensible reason. She kept smiling at Yaz, though. “Just open it, silly.”
Yaz shook her head lovingly, before she carefully opened up the envelope. She could feel everyone’s gaze on her, not unlike the moment at Joy’s baby shower, when the older woman gave her the ‘Best Mumzy in the Universe’ mug.
Inside, Yaz found a single picture of Alice and Noah, both grinning from ear to ear while playing in the treehouse – she recognized its aged wood and the stars drawn by Joy’s meticulous hand. Her heart felt like it swelled and exploded with how much love she felt for the two of them.
“It’s a beautiful picture, babe. Thank you,” Yaz said, a grateful smile plastered on her face.
Joy took another few steps in her direction. “Turn it over, lovely.”
Yaz chuckled when she recognized Alice’s penmanship, not even registering what was written. She was simply proud of how much she had improved in that respect ever since they had entered each other’s lives.
She started reading what was written on the back of the photograph.
‘Will you (officially!!!) be our Mumzy?’
Yaz looked up, in shock. Her first instinct was to look for Alice and Noah in the crowd, and she found them almost instantly. The young girl was crouching next to her baby brother, holding him tightly while she smiled widely at her Mumzy. Yaz smiled right back at her and chuckled.
Of course, she wanted to be their Mumzy.
Then, someone patted her shoulder from behind. Yaz turned around and found the one other person she needed to see in that moment, because she needed to understand what that was all about.
And there was Joy.
Joy, on one knee, holding up what looked like legal documents, all rolled up and held together by a delicate ribbon. A delicate ribbon which also held a silver ring.
Soft gasps came from every side of the yard, but Yaz didn’t notice. Her heart had stopped and was beating faster all at once, and all she could see or hear or feel was Joy.
“Yaz,” Joy said softly, with only love in her eyes. “You've been my lighthouse when I was looking for the way to continue my journey, my shoulder to cry on when I thought I wasn't good enough, and my pillar when I needed support in hard times. You’ve been in my…” Her nose scrunched adorably as she considered her words carefully. “You’ve been in our lives for less than two years,” she grinned. “It’s crazy! It’s nuts!”
Yaz’s eyes were filled with tears already, and Joy’s smile only made her own get bigger and brighter.
“And you know why? Because it doesn’t feel like it. It feels like it was both yesterday and forever ago that Alice shared that first custard creams pack with you. And even then, I knew you were special,” Joy took a deep breath, her eyes falling furtively to the ground before meeting Yaz’s once more. “You know as well as I do that Alice has quite an eye for detail, and I think she saw something in you that day. She saw her Mummy's princess. From that point on, you became one of us. You were part of the family, even though, well…” She cocked her head and grimaced. “It took us a while to act on those feelings, didn’t it?”
Yaz laughed heartily and nodded. “Oh, my days! Yeah,” she said, wiping the dampness of her cheeks.
“You know, even if someone offered to take me back to the start and let me handle all of this a little better, I wouldn’t. I wouldn’t, because we wouldn’t be where we are today, and we wouldn’t have this,” Joy said, looking around at their friends and family, before her eyes finally laid on Alice and Noah. “But now, I want to make sure that this remains ours. I want you to be one of us forever.”
The blonde clumsily untied the ring from the ribbon. Yaz was about to come to her aid, already crouching in front of her girlfriend, but the older woman managed on her own. When Joy looked back and found Yaz’s brown eyes once more, she held the legal documents for Alice and Noah’s adoption in one hand, and the ring in the other.
“Yasmin Khan, will you legally become the mother of our children and, by any chance, will you marry me?” Her eyes were teary and full of hope.
Yaz launched herself at Joy, effectively tackling her down on the grass. She felt the other woman’s arms wrap around her middle and, though her hold was awkward because both of her hands were busy holding two very important things, her embrace was everything Yaz needed.
“I hope that’s a yes, if not that’s going to be one hell of an uncomfy end to a birthday party,” Joy whispered, her voice tainted with emotions.
“Of course, that’s a yes!” Yaz replied excitedly, untangling herself from Joy’s hold just enough to kiss her passionately.
Their friends and family were all clapping and cheering for them as they finally sat on the ground rather than laying on top of each other. Joy tucked the adoption papers under her arm, holding the fine piece of jewelry firmly with both of her hands.
Yaz offered Joy her left hand, and the two women felt a wave of emotion overwhelm them.
“See, I told you things would fall into place,” Joy said as she slid the ring on Yaz’s finger.
“You know what?”
“What?” Joy grinned, cocking her head slightly.
“You were right,” Yaz smirked.
Joy gasped. “Ooh! We did it, people! We have scientific proof that Yasmin Khan can in fact be wrong,” she whispered jokingly in Yaz’s ear before she placed a longing kiss on the younger woman’s cheek.
“You’re so silly. I love you,” Yaz whispered.
“I love you.”
As their lips found each other’s, they were joined by their children, who embraced them. The two women happily broke off their kiss to squeeze their children tightly, making them both giggle.
“Ah! Love a nice hug from my three favourite people, me,” Joy said.
After a short moment, Alice looked up at Yaz, her hazel eyes filled with hope.
“Did you say yes, Mumzy?” Alice enquired.
Yaz kissed the top of the girl’s – her daughter’s – head. “I did, baby girl. I said yes to all of it. I love you both so, so much,” Yaz choked under the weight of her love for Alice and Noah. She stroked both of their heads gently. “My babies.”
The young girl wrapped her arms around Yaz’s middle and rested her head on her chest, closing her eyes as Yaz rubbed her back gently.
“Muh-uh-mzy!” Noah shouted at them.
Yaz and Joy looked at each other in shock before their gaze fell on their baby boy.
“Mummy! Muh-uh-mzy!” He grinned, clapping his hands.
Mothers and daughter laughed as the boy kept repeating the words, shouting so loudly their neighbours could definitely hear him. He was claiming, loud and proud, that this was the start of a new chapter of their lives.